Valve assembly kit

Claim 1

A valve assembly kit for assembling a plurality of different slide valves, comprising a plurality of diverse interchangeable housing components wherefrom an elongated housing element may be assembled, a plurality of spool components wherefrom a valve spool element may be assembled and connecting means; said housing components being of identical contour and each of them being formed with an axially extending main passage portion configurated and dimensioned identically with those of the other of these housing components, so that, when said housing components are coaxially assembled in different sequence and orientation to obtain a selectable configuration of said housing element, an axial main fluid passage is formed from said main passage portions for channeling the flow of fluid in a predetermined path; some of said housing components including fluid ports opening outwardly and also communicating with the main fluid passage portion of the housing components wherein they are formed; one group of said housing components containing one single axially extending lateral fluid passage portion and the other group of said housing components containing several axially extending lateral fluid passage portions, all these lateral fluid passage portions being equally shaped and distributed about, and spacedly from, the periphery of said housing components, so that different positioning and orientation of said housing components in the assembled elongated housing element provide therein axially extending lateral fluid passages selectably interconnecting said fluid ports and communicating with said main fluid passage; the spool components wherefrom the elongated valve spool element can be assembled being elongate in form and having in one series thereof a diameter smaller than that of said main fluid passage in the assembled housing element and having the other series thereof shaped and dimensioned to be in the assembled housing element engageable with the interior wall of said main fluid passage and slidable therein, so that said assembled spool element, in dependence on the respective shapes and location therein of said spool components, when the latter is shifted, either blocks or frees the fluid passage through said main fluid passage to or from the one and the other of said ports; and said connecting means being formed to be engageable with the housing components for coaxially connecting the same and securing them in respective desired sequencies.